Austria-wide strike: All trains stand until midnight

Because of the strike scheduled between 12:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m., train traffic had to be “stopped throughout Austria”, according to the ÖBB website. According to the railway, trains affected by the strike will “either be canceled or run briefly”. Occasionally there could still be train cancellations on Tuesday. “We ask you to choose alternative travel options.”

“The opening times of the travel centers and the regional customer service direct counters cannot yet be estimated in the event of a strike,” as the ÖBB further announced on its website on Sunday: “Telephone availability is guaranteed, but there may be considerable waiting times.”

Westbahn is also standing

In addition to the ÖBB trains, there will also be trains from the Westbahn on Monday. The cross-border connections are also affected here, specifically the Westbahn trains to and from Munich. “We are sorry that we cannot be on the road for you tomorrow (Monday, November 28th, 2022) due to the warning strike,” as the Westbahn announced on its website on Sunday.

According to employer chief negotiator Thomas Scheiber, all other affected railway companies will also try to inform passengers as best they can and to replace the tickets or continue to apply them. Most of the municipal transport companies are on the move. This includes the underground in Vienna, but not the S-Bahn. Post buses run, there is no rail replacement service – except for the City Airport Train (CAT), which connects Vienna with Vienna International Airport.

“Massive traffic congestion”

The one-day warning strike among railway employees will lead to “massive traffic congestion”, especially in metropolitan areas. At least that’s what the ÖAMTC expects. Those who can should stay at home, work from home, for example – or at least form carpools.

ASFINAG appealed in a broadcast, “if possible, to avoid the rush hours in the morning and in the evening and to plan more travel time for the journey by car”. According to the ASFINAG broadcast on Sunday afternoon, the route service of the motorway maintenance departments will be increased and daily construction sites planned for Monday will be postponed.

Viennese short-term parking zones remain

Depending on the regulations in force, anyone driving a car on Monday could also have problems finding a parking space in the cities. In Vienna, for example, the short-term parking zones remain open on the day of the strike. However, the Wiener Linien are not affected by the Austria-wide rail strike – more on this in wien.ORF.at.

As in Vienna, increased traffic on the streets is expected in all other federal states on Monday. In Carinthia alone, 22,000 passengers and 350 train connections are affected by the strike – more on this at kaernten.ORF.at.

Partly also local trains affected

Some local railways are also affected by the strike, including the Raaber Bahn in Burgenland – more on this in burgenland.ORF.at. In Upper Austria, in addition to ÖBB, Westbahn and the Stern & Hafferl lines, the Gmunden-Lambach rail connection and the Linz local railway are also affected by the strike. Only the Attersee line between Vöcklamarkt and Attersee is scheduled to be used – more on this at ooe.ORF.at.

In Lower Austria, too, all regional and long-distance trains from ÖBB and Westbahn as well as the S-Bahn are canceled. Badner Bahn, Mariazeller Bahn and buses run against it. There is a rail replacement service to the airport – more on this at noe.ORF.at.

In Salzburg, severe restrictions in regional traffic are also to be expected, because complete failures are also to be expected with the Salzburg Local Railway, the Pinzgau Local Railway and the entire urban trolleybus service. The regional buses and the Albus will run according to the timetable – more on this in salzburg.ORF.at.

Works meeting at Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe

In Styria, part of the Murtalbahn route of the Styrian state railways is used for school traffic in the morning and early afternoon. In any case, the Graz Linien operate unrestrictedly in the state capital. The Graz-Köflacher-Bahn (GKB), on the other hand, is largely on strike – more on this in steiermark.ORF.at.

In Tyrol, in addition to the rail connections, there are also delays and failures in the Innsbruck transport companies. Only a works meeting in the early hours of Monday morning will bring clarity here. But the works meeting alone is likely to cause delays, at least temporarily – more on that in tirol.ORF.at.

As in other federal states, there will be no rail replacement service in Vorarlberg for capacity reasons. The buses are on schedule, but the Vorarlberger Verkehrsverbund (VVV) expected delays in advance – more on this in vorarlberg.ORF.at.

Lawyer for KV negotiations

Attorney and employment law expert Katharina Körber-Risak talks about the failed railway KV negotiations. The fifth round of negotiations on a new rail KV has failed. Employer and employee representatives blamed each other for the all-day Austria-wide warning strike by railway workers on Monday.

Lawyer: strike no excuse for work

According to labor law expert Katharina Körber-Risak, the rail strike is not an excuse not to come to work. Because unless otherwise agreed, the employees are “obligated” to appear punctually at the place of work – more on this in wien.ORF.at.